The Apprentice (IRL)

peanuthead

I liked it.

Quote of the week as said by the boys team leader, went a little like:

"Apples, Apples, anyone for the apples? These are great apples, I hope you have a good set a teeth on ya for them apples!!" haha

tc20

anyone twig the continuity error at the start of the program?

Dr Bill is seen reading the paper while being chaffuered in the back of a Bentley.

When he pulls up to the house to meet the contestants, he

steps out of a S-class Mercedes

I thought if they cant get through theopening 60 seconds of the show it wasn't going to be up to much. However it think its worth following, and see how the 'characters' develop - altho it looks like the papers are digging up stuff already.
I have met the man himself, and altho some posters here say he doesn't have the aura of Sugar or a Branson, he is one of the few people i've ever met who does have a presence in a room. A sound man, tho it mightn't necessarily come across on the box.

giftgrub

Someone earlier mentioned the voice over guy...

FYI
Its Phelim Drew, son of the late Ronnie

faceman

Scootay wrote: »

Have you seen the UK or US versions? The winning team don't get feedback and the receptionist never does anything other than take a call from the "boardroom" telling her to send the teams back in.

equally a pointless strategy, reinforeced by the fact there was little between them. Im not a reality tv fan anyway.

wrote:

I approached it with my sarcasm at the ready but was pleasantly surprised and will watch again. Fair play TV3.

What is it about the show that appealed to you?

Da Funky Munky

giftgrub wrote: »

Someone earlier mentioned the voice over guy...

FYI
Its Phelim Drew, son of the late Ronnie

He was in The Commitments



Watched it this morning on the TV3 website, thats a very handy feature they have as finding torrents of Irish shows is next to impossible.

Im liking Cullen, some of the comments here are simply old Irish begrudgery raising its head. Maybe there are more successful entrepreneurs in Ireland but they also needed a character and one willing to do TV. O' Leary would've used it as a one hour infomercial for Ryanair.

Speaking of free advertisements - the plugs for the Grafton Barber were OTT, either a producer or the contestant who rang them was making a few quid there But that aside I thought it was very good as far as Irish reality went, Im a bit annoyed I clicked on the major spoiler in this thread - it really gives away alot about the final of the show so be aware!

I'll be watching this every week, either online or TV. TV3 have finally produced a decent show for themselves.

ElNino

giftgrub wrote: »

Someone earlier mentioned the voice over guy...

FYI
Its Phelim Drew, son of the late Ronnie

He would make a good salesman himself. In his voice over at the start he introduces the 14 candidates that have been chosen from thousands of applications. Then Bill comes on amd meets the contestants and says that they have been chosen from 1200 applicants!

The receptionist on the UK version is an actress. I am not sure if the Irish one is real.

Also someone earlier suggested that the guys should have restocked and it wouldn't have mattered if they were late back to the board room. This happened on the UK version in a task and the team was fined for being late.

deadwood

BaZmO* wrote: »

Whoever came up with the idea to sell the fruit outside of a Garda Station should've been fired on the spot. It really beggars belief that someone could be so thick.

Should have been de pink shnacks and de breakfast rolls.

BaZmO*

ElNino wrote: »

Also someone earlier suggested that the guys should have restocked and it wouldn't have mattered if they were late back to the board room. This happened on the UK version in a task and the team was fined for being late.

That was me, and you're right I remember that from the UK one but I think case is slightly different considering they gave up with 3 hours still to go.

whiskeyman

How many sponsors does the show have again?
Something like 10??
I get the feeling we're going to be bombarded with product placements and brand dropping over the next few weeks.
Rumours that Supermacs (a sponsor), will even feature in one of the tasks... and probably more too.
The Grafton Barber one noted already... and anyone notice everyone drinking the same branded bottle water back in the house?
And the EA Game stand in the house.

I'm surpised Bill doesn't go 'You're Fired!!.... but there's always another job on irishjobs.ie'


Mind you, it's making for good viewing so far!

nevey

No time to read all the comments - scanned through 6 pages then gave up.
I was very skeptical - thought it would be cringey-good and I was critical of the choice of Cullen as the Sir Alan.

However, I realllly enjoyed it and I thought the production was great overall. Cullen was great too. The task was predictable but good. A few negatives
1. The voiceover is appalling. Quick, TV3/Shinawil, redo it for the remaining episodes. It detracts from the whole experience.
2. I would have thought that you couldn't just hawk your wares on the street or in a shopping mall if you have a streetsellers licence for one place. That seemed a bit unrealistic.
3. A bit more make-up on the male contestants wouldn't go amiss.

Overall small gripes. AND I discovered yesterday that I indirectly know one of the contestants!

I am going to watch it again tonight. I am even looking forward to the repeat!

OPENROAD

[QUOTE=uRbaN;57348762The naming of both teams was where I made up my mind that I would not like the show....a choice of Dynamo or Dragons for the blokes ....ROFL...and the girls, Phoenix? Bills remark "you haven't given yoursleves much of a chance" was very apt I felt.
[/QUOTE]


Did you hear when they were coming up with names one of the lads said "Celtic Dragons - because it sounds Irish" :rolleyes:

noobie

You can watch all the episodes again here


http://apprentice.tv3.ie/index.php?request=&tv3_preview=&video=936

outside Ireland aswell?:)

KhanTheMan

GeorgeCostanza wrote: »

I had to laugh about the story he told about his father telling him not to go to college; that he would learn more in the 'real world'. The guy works in a scrap yard as far as I can make out. It's been a long time since I heard any of this "university of life, school of hard knocks" b*ll*xology. He was a complete knob.

http://www.architecturalsalvage.ie/index.php

http://amberangels.com/our_shop.html

http://www.lacreme.ie/About_La_Creme

http://www.espatial.com/archives/2006/07/espatial_announ.html

Then i got bored

eirebhoy

Sizzler wrote: »

Everything he said seemed scripted and alien to him and already hes banging on about "When I was a child me old ma said to me..." Who gives a f**k !

Any excuse for a pop. He was talking about the guy closing the stall on Moore street early when there was more money to be made. Of course he's gonna mention his ma a couple of times given what the task actually was. His ma is the bloody reason for this task.

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

I think that is why Dr Bill saved him. He liked his whole salt of the earth working-class Dub sthick even though he packed in the task with 3 hours still to go.

Finished up at half 2, meeting was at half 4.

FrankGrimes

whiskeyman wrote: »

I'm surpised Bill doesn't go 'You're Fired!!.... but there's always another job on irishjobs.ie'

That's quality!

lee_arama

starn wrote: »

Go on spill

Heh. I was told on Monday that one of the girls had stolen from a previous employer and was fired as a result. Now, this evening I was told that she'd stolen from two other places and was, naturally fired.

Now, given that at least one of the three places was confirmed to me via the manager who fired her, I'm surprised that TV3 failed to spot this...

Wonder is there a Betfair market on this...I could clean up...

Utopia Parkway

eirebhoy wrote: »

Any excuse for a pop. He was talking about the guy closing the stall on Moore street early when there was more money to be made. Of course he's gonna mention his ma a couple of times given what the task actually was. His ma is the bloody reason for this task.


Finished up at half 2, meeting was at half 4.

Either way he packed it in early. Did one of the lads not say they were pretty much finihsed up by half one?

Vince135792003

I would give the show a thumbs up given that I had low expectations going into.

It will and could never compare to the BBC version but overall it was pretty entertaining. Cullen was good in his role I thought.

I think the ad breaks really hurt the flow of the show but that's just something that has to be lived with.

eirebhoy

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Either way he packed it in early. Did one of the lads not say they were pretty much finihsed up by half one?

He wanted to finish up at half one as they sold all the fruit but the rest said there was still time. They went and restocked. I think they got a deal to sell a bit for €100 which fell through. I missed what happened there.

Gekko

Am I the only one who laughed when Bill introduced Jackie as his "right hand man" at the beginning of the programme?!

Some of the things in the task came across as contrived, such as the plug for a number of businesses

None of the contestants are outstanding...I'm not sure I'd buy a used car from any of them. Some of the lads on the show just come across as total arseholes, others were just unremarkable.

Very few of them seem to have any actual experience of running their own businesses - most seem to be in sales jobs.

Overall not very impressed

AARRRGH

Gekko wrote: »

Am I the only one who laughed when Bill introduced Jackie as his "right hand man" at the beginning of the programme?!

When I saw him being driven in a Bentley, and then pulling up in a Mercedes, and then saying Jackie is his right hand man, I thought to myself, "God, this is embarrassing".

Luckily it improved from then onwards, but come on, these are basic things they should get right!

Enii

Gekko wrote: »

Am I the only one who laughed when Bill introduced Jackie as his "right hand man" at the beginning of the programme?!

Yes this put me right off Bill. What a silly thing to say. Not funny

Sizzler

Does Cullen own Irishjobs or something

I did notice the continuity error with the Bentley though ! Clowns.

I dont agree with the earlier poster that said if O'Leary was on it he would use it as a plug for Ryanair, to be fair to him he rarely uses his media outings as a vehicle to plug his airline. His attitude always is attack the authorities and if people want to use Ryanair they know who we are and where we are.

Larry Bass (The producer for Shinawill) was on the last word yesterday and he said you won't see Bill "roaring and ranting" as he isnt that type of charachter. You could tell the lads in the boardroom the other day werent exactly nervous and the body language and attire was inherently relaxed, this comes down to a lack of respect for Cullen. Compare that to the UK or US shows where the contestants are sh*ting themselves going in as they know they are going to be tested. The "quality" of questions Cullen was firing out were hardly even interview standard, if the contestants cant live with them they shouldnt be employed in a Spar let alone getting a €100K "package".

Cullen doesnt even own the renault franchise anymore so what exactly is the winner going to be doing for him

Scootay

faceman wrote: »

equally a pointless strategy, reinforeced by the fact there was little between them.

But a part of the show designed to make it look like they are actually sitting outside a boardroom while their fates are decided. Sometimes they show who's sitting with who and who's avoiding who to try and show factions and add a little bit of drama. It's contrived but that's TV.

faceman wrote: »

Im not a reality tv fan anyway.

What is it about the show that appealed to you?

I enjoyed the UK version and this version was not far off the production quality. It takes a few weeks for the candidates' personalities, or lack of, to show through.

People complain about continuity errors with Bill's car but the opening sequence will be the same every week and he won't always arrive by car or be shown arriving. The UK version filmed all the candidates walking out to a waiting taxi in one day and then used the film as each candidate was fired. It meant people changed their hair and clothes between boardroom and taxi but so what. It's just a gameshow.

Elmo

Product placement is all over this show! I was at the EA games promotion which the girls do next week (hoping I amn't on the TV :cool: ) and they had everone drinking sol, free beer I also got to see the supermac promotion, free cinema tickets

Next year I am stalking the show even futher, free stuff.

faceman

Sizzler wrote: »

Larry Bass (The producer for Shinawill) was on the last word yesterday and he said you won't see Bill "roaring and ranting" as he isnt that type of charachter. You could tell the lads in the boardroom the other day werent exactly nervous and the body language and attire was inherently relaxed, this comes down to a lack of respect for Cullen. Compare that to the UK or US shows where the contestants are sh*ting themselves going in as they know they are going to be tested. The "quality" of questions Cullen was firing out were hardly even interview standard, if the contestants cant live with them they shouldnt be employed in a Spar let alone getting a €100K "package".

Cullen doesnt even own the renault franchise anymore so what exactly is the winner going to be doing for him

Couldnt agree more. The project leader for the blokes was dominated the "grilling" at one stage. Cullen was a bad choice. Even with the bad contestants, a quality "boss" would have greater appeal. If O'Leary had doing it for example, i would have been glued to it each week just to see if i could learn something!

Scootay wrote: »

But a part of the show designed to make it look like they are actually sitting outside a boardroom while their fates are decided. Sometimes they show who's sitting with who and who's avoiding who to try and show factions and add a little bit of drama. It's contrived but that's TV.

I guess its a weak point of the show format IMO so. Other competitive reality TV shows with celebrity hosts ensure all contestants get feedback. The format of the Apprentice seems to all about knocking the weak rather than seeking to improve potential successes. IMO of course.

KnifeWRENCH

Well Cullen is no Alan Sugar but he wasn't as bad as I expected. And I like his boardroom with the funky blue colour!

Contestants seem to be getting on ok, which is disappointing. More bitchiness, please!

Scootay

You're dead right faceman. The winners could have won by a fluke and will often have been more disorganised than the losers but they won so they are never criticised. Of course it could also be the editing that shows them being worse than the losers to mislead the audience.

In the latest series of the UK Apprentice the teams lost for the same reasons over and over again but it never occurred to any of the contestants to analyse why a team lost or what a team that won could do to improve.

The project manager of the lads dominating the boardroom is another staple of the show. Alan Sugar would often let them fight amongst themselves while he watched. I presume it helps him make up his mind on who's getting the boot. Again, contestants never seem to learn from this experience either but it's not a training course, it's a game show.

EJLL

Hmmm, I was never aware of this Cullen individual but he is not a patch on Sugar or Trump who control the boardroom situation with greater ease and really provide entertaining quips. I hope the Irish version is not shown in the UK television cause I work there. Its one thing to laugh at the UK version that is largely full of muppets but to have the UK laugh at the Irish version with an equal proportion of ‘muppets’ (the majority of which are the lads) is just not cool.

Sizzler

EJLL wrote: »

Hmmm, I was never aware of this Cullen individual but he is not a patch on Sugar or Trump who control the boardroom situation with greater ease and really provide entertaining quips. I hope the Irish version is not shown in the UK television cause I work there. Its one thing to laugh at the UK version that is largely full of muppets but to have the UK laugh at the Irish version with an equal proportion of ‘muppets’ (the majority of which are the lads) is just not cool.

I am surprised as he's a media junkie! Words of wisdom here from him here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y7KGY744xk&feature=related

Sizzler

One of the "favourites" to win the show, WTF? WHY exactly

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/apprentice-star-shane-had-black-eye-after-row-1481318.html

jebuz

I got some shock when I turned it on to see Ronan there, he was the goalkeeper on a team I played with last season, he's pretty decent and sound out, but some man for lengthy team talks!!

panda100

I got a text yest saying Ronan was on it,I couldnt believe it! I went on a couple of dates with him back in first year and he is the soundest guy you'd meet. Very genuine,charming,bright fella whose been through some tough,sad times in his life but always has a smile on his face
I didnt watch it,but he would be a deserved winner!

BaZmO*

panda100 wrote: »

I got a text yest saying Ronan was on it,I couldnt believe it! I went on a couple of dates with him back in first year and he is the soundest guy you'd meet. Very genuine,charming,bright fella whose been through some tough,sad times in his life but always has a smile on his face
I didnt watch it,but he would be a deserved winner!

I don't get that. He'd be a deserved winner just because he's a nice guy that's been through some tough times? Surely the person most capable of doing the job would be a deserved winner?

Elmo

I don't get that. He'd be a deserved winner just because he's a nice guy that's been through some tough times? Surely the person most capable of doing the job would be a deserved winner?

The sympathy card works on reality TV. Like in the X Factor or American Idol. You know the stories about how if my father didn't push me etc etc and now that he is dead he can't see me become a star etc etc.


Sorry no offence to Ronan and with what ever he had to go through. I don't know the guy.

Crash Bang Wall

efb wrote: »

Women are out to win, lads look like SAPs

Nail on head. Think that Dub guy team leader should have got fired. What a bullsh!tter

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Elmo

Just caught the repeat, not bad.
Micheal O'Leary would have been so much better. Unfortunately he actually has a successful business to run.
Cullen is Dire.

Does he? I like cullen I think he will start to get better as the series goes on. O'Leary would constantly be angry and is overly opinionated about everything, he would start going on about how the government are a bunch of feckers and that everything should be done low cost. I can just imagine his board room with two model Ryan-air Airplanes sitting in the middle of the table. The winners of the task would get a luxary trip to somewhere near paris on a Ryanair flight where they would get priority seating.

Cork

Cullan Did a good job.

I liked the Irish version - especially the board room.

Tought contestants did well.


All handled themselves well at the boardroom.

Compared to past Irish attempts at reaity TV - This surely is an easy winner.

But beating trash like Failte Towers and RTE's talent search show would not be too hard.

Elmo

But beating trash like Failte Towers and RTE's talent search show would not be too hard.

We should heap praises on TV3 for their previous attempts at reality TV. The Box and Haunted House emmmmmmmm Scary stuff indeed.

danger mouse

jayhaitch2 wrote: »

Thought it was really cringey.

Full of the cocky know-all sales people that you see all over the country, pretending to a character just to get a bit of extra commission.

It felt really planned and scripted. The amount of times the guy selling to the Grafton Barber actually said "Grafton Barber" was ridiculous....at one stage he was talking to them on the phone and said something like "Hi is that the Grafton Barber. Would you like some fruit for your shop...The Grafton Barber. It would be great for The Grafton Barber..." All he was short of doing was grinning into the camera with his thumbs up.

Product placement and advertising for lots of other businesses (Carphone Warehouse, Break for the Border, Buckleys) lead me to believe that a production assistant may have done more selling than any of them...offering a shot of the store name in exchange for handing over some cash and looking gormless whilst haggling for fruit.

The randomly trading around Dublin without a permit was ridiculous. The fact that one of these places was Pearse St Garda Station makes me think maybe they weren't actually selling.

The final point that makes me doubt its credentials is the fact that the project leader wasn't fired. Seriously if you close up shop two hours early because you did 'enough' there isn't a boss in the world who wouldn't fire you. The other guy may have been gormless, but there was only one person responsible for losing that task.

The carphone warehouse sale was a set up..One of the lads is mates with the manager of cpw Henry street..lol
And im sure the grafton barber yoke was a set up aswell.

Sizzler

Cork wrote: »

Cullan Did a good job.

Did he He's a clown and he did nothing to change my mind on last weeks show.

The farce continues tomorrow night

If the winner has any sense at the end of the show they will tell Cullen to shove the job up his hoop

Elmo

I just saw some of it again on Channel 6 tonight.

Cringey but then I always thought this show was cringey, I think it is the point of the show, even some of the Alan Sugar and Donald Trump versions have the cringen factor. When one of the team members say something stupid, you just start reaching for the remote.

In away that's why the Apprentice (all versions) works.

Ckal

Not the best, but it's far better than the American version, imo :pac:

K4t

John Boland didn't slate it so that's good enough for me.

I'll be tuning in from now on.

Max001

The show is dodgy when produced in the UK or US, but Bill Cullen is a knob jockey and it shows. Entire cast is obviously picked for on-screen drama potential and business acumen a long way behind. This is car crash television with a cast of boggers. Sooooo sad. :eek:

robo

RTE delivers 3rd world television yet again.

This is TV3!

K4t

Max001 wrote: »

The show is dodgy when produced in the UK or US, but Bill Cullen is a knob jockey and it shows. Entire cast is obviously picked for on-screen drama potential and business acumen a long way behind. This is car crash television with a cast of boggers. Sooooo sad. :eek:

It's more entertaining than watching z-list celebrities trying to revive their careers by working in a hotle tbh.

Proven format. It's a good show. We want drama.

Max001

Yeh, fair point, but my mind is trying to 'block' the experience, like it will do sometimes with life threatening traumas......if I'd watched any more of it, I'd probably have thrown myself under a bus.

It'd be watchable if:

1. Cullen was replaced by a pikey

2. Each week pikey-like challenges consisted of boosting gear and reselling at markets or door-to door, or tarmac ing pensioners drive ways, trading horses etc

3. To be fired meant potential death by fight club (then they might try a little harder)

Oh I give up. Its not worth it. Back to therapy.

vl2008

janeybabe wrote: »

I missed the first 20 minutes so I'm not sure about it yet. The girls are annoying me with their dancing around and stuff.

you can see it all on the website www.tv3.ie/theapprentice